Education an issue for us all
General Sir John Monash was an Australian Military Commander in World War I who grew up not far from the Shepparton region in Jerilderie.
As a respected former soldier, he was approached in the 1920s, at the height of the Depression, to mount a coup d’e´tat against the Australian Government of the time.
Many believed he had the standing to have commanded the loyalty of the armed forces and successfully attained power in this way.
He refused, memorably saying that the only hope for Australia was through “the ballot box and an educated electorate”.
Even more so today, education is the key factor for the betterment of our country and our region.
Unskilled jobs that existed in the 1920s have moved to other parts of the world, so to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the new economy it is essential our children have a reasonable standard of education.
For some, this will be a PhD in a field of scientific research, for others it will be numeracy and literacy skills necessary to complete a trade apprenticeship. It can’t be one size fits all.
Unfortunately, findings of the Greater Shepparton Lighthouse project show many of our children (and if they grow up in the Shepparton region they are OUR children), don’t have satisfactory educational attainments.
Before we blame schools, government, society today or parents, we need to take a collective responsibility for this issue.
Great opportunities exist for people to be educated in this region. The Better Together Schools alliance is working to create an environment where a wide variety of interests and career areas can be catered to; diploma and degree courses can be completed at University of Melbourne Dookie campus and La Trobe University Shepparton campus.
La Trobe offers the Masters of Business Administration. I am studying this now through night classes at the Shepparton campus via video link to Melbourne, and it works really well.
So where do children slip through the cracks? What can be done to stop it?
The Lighthouse Project is looking at these questions, and has initiatives in place such as volunteer reading programs and a pilot Year 7 mentoring program.
Malcolm Turnbull has said the government needs to make some tough choices now so that the next generation is not saddled with the debt of the past.
We agree. But it is also important that the next generation not be saddled with a cohort of welfaredependent adults whose lack of engagement in the education system means they are unable to participate in the economic opportunities of the 21st century. ● Sam Birrell is chief executive officer of the Committee for Greater Shepparton